Xaver Zeltner

Xaver Zeltner
Born(1764-11-19)November 19, 1764
Solothurn
DiedSeptember 18, 1835(1835-09-18) (aged 70)
Saronno, Lombardy
OccupationsOfficer, politician, senator, judge

Xaver Zeltner, also known as Franz Xaver Zeltner (19 November 1764 – 18 September 1835), was a Swiss officer, politician, senator of the Helvetic Republic, and judge. His home in Solothurn served as the residence and final resting place of Polish national leader Tadeusz Kościuszko.

Biography

Early life and education

Xaver Zeltner, born Urs Xaver Joseph Anton Zeltner, was born in Solothurn, Switzerland, to Franz Anton Zeltner, a member of the Great Council (Grossrat), and Maria Anna de La Martinière. His uncle, Franz Peter Alois Zeltner, was the director of the mint and city secretary of Solothurn. Zeltner attended the Jesuit college in Solothurn and served as an officer in the Cent-Suisses in Paris from 1781 to 1788.

Administrative career

In 1788, Zeltner became a clerk (Amtsschreiber) in the Flumenthal district before returning to Solothurn as a notary. From 1793 to 1798, he served in the Great Council of the Canton of Solothurn and acted as Landvogt (bailiff) in Lugano from 1793 to 1794.

Role in the Helvetic Republic

In February 1798, Zeltner was arrested in Solothurn as a patriot, a supporter of revolutionary reforms inspired by the French Revolution and the Helvetic Revolution. The traditional patrician authorities viewed reformers as a threat. Released the following month after French troops intervened, he joined the provisional government of the Canton of Solothurn and, on 26 March 1798, became a senator of the Helvetic Republic. Until 1800, he served as a government representative (Regierungsstatthalter). From 1802 to 1803, Zeltner represented the Helvetic Republic at the Consulta in Paris, where he befriended Tadeusz Kościuszko. From 1810 to 1814, he was part of the liberal opposition in Solothurn's Great Council and served as an appellate judge from 1811 to 1814. In 1814, he joined a provisional government but was later arrested for his involvement in a coup attempt.

Connection to Tadeusz Kościuszko

From 1815 to 1817, Tadeusz Kościuszko resided in Zeltner's home at 12 Gurzelngasse, Solothurn, where he died on 15 October 1817. Kościuszko had previously stayed at the estate of Zeltner's brother, Peter Josef Zeltner, in Berville near Fontainebleau, France, from 1801 to 1815. In 1936, Zeltner's home was converted into the Kościuszko Museum, dedicated to Kościuszko's legacy.

Family

In 1794, Zeltner married Orsola Peri from Lugano. Their daughter, Emilia, married Giovanni Battista Morosini (1782–1874), a Lugano lawyer, politician, and former State Councilor who adopted Austrian citizenship in 1842. The Morosinis had five daughters and a son, who died in 1849 fighting for Italian independence. The Zeltner family was Catholic. Zeltner's brother, Peter Josef Zeltner (1765–1830), served as the Helvetic Republic's first envoy to France and was also a member of the Cent-Suisses in Paris.

Xaver Zeltner died on 18 September 1835 in Saronno, Lombardy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Kopp, Peter F. (25 January 2015). "Zeltner, Xaver". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 F. Kopp, Peter (1994). "Xaver Zeltner". Jahrbuch für Solothurnische Geschichte (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Kościuszko Museum". Solothurn City. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Muzeum Tadeusza Kościuszki w Solurze" [Tadeusz Kościuszko Museum in Solothurn]. Międzynarodowa Akademia Badań Polonijnych w Zurychu (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2024-02-29. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  5. ↑ "Familienübersicht: Zeltner, Franz Xaver Josef Anton" [Family Overview: Zeltner, Franz Xaver Josef Anton]. Historische Familien Luzern und Solothurn (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  6. ↑ Kopp, Peter F. (12 March 2013). "Zeltner, Franz Peter Alois". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "Franz X. Zeltner to Thomas Jefferson, 29 October 1817". Founders Online, National Archives (in French and English). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 Narkowicz, Liliana. "Polonia szwajcarska honoruje pamięć Tadeusza Kościuszki" [Swiss Polonia honors the memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko]. Archiwum2000 (in Polish). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  9. ↑ "Tadeusz Kosciuszko in Switzerland". Swiss Spectator. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  10. ↑ Stragierowicz, Beata (8 October 2025). "Kościuszko w Solurze" [Kościuszko in Solothurn]. Prawdajestciekawa (in Polish). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  11. 1 2 Kopp, Peter F. (25 January 2015). "Zeltner, Peter Josef". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "Muzeum im. Tadeusza Kościuszki w Solurze" [Tadeusz Kościuszko Museum in Solothurn]. Culture.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  13. ↑ Arcobello, Francesca Mariani; Sonderegger, Christian (7 October 2009). "Morosini, Giovanni Battista". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.